Young Bloomers

Young children in Stony Stratford can hardly fail to be caught up in the magic of gardening and learning to grow their own vegetables and flowers. The schools have come on board with the blooming boom.

A Science Garden at
Russell Street School

Russell Street School has a science garden which was designed by Lesley Keck. What is a science garden, you may ask? Well, it is a year-round outdoor classroom using different materials for the hard-landscaping, and a variety of plants for smell, texture and taste. There is a ramp for exploring forces. It has a gazebo for hanging different materials, provision for a water feature and raised beds for children to sow and grow their own vegetables as well as open areas for flowers and plants. During their time at Russell Street School, children need to observe, explore and ask questions about living things and materials. They make a study of plants and bugs for life processes. A sundial and rain gauge help them explore the weather and understand the effects of light and colour. They begin to work together to collect evidence to help them answer questions and to link these to simple scientific ideas. They share their ideas and communicate them using scientific language, drawings, charts and tables. The children have sown seeds for plants to be used in the town’s beds and planters.

A New Term in the Russell Street School's Science Garden

Following on from a successful and enthusiastic start in the summer, children are back for the autumn term and continue to work in their Science Garden. The pictures below show a lovely mixture of Helianthus, wind experiment apparatus and onions drying in the sun. The theme of the Stony in Bloom wall display prepared by the children is of "Growing Sunflowers."

Posted 01/10/09

Russell Street First School Children enjoys the Natural World

An enthusiastic class of children from Russell St School and their teachers helped Stony in Bloom plant daffodil bulbs in Cofferidge Close on the afternoon of Thursday September 24th, so that in the Spring the residents of Stony Stratford will be able to enjoy a burst of colour under the trees. The bulbs had been kindly provided by Lesley Arkin.

The children are no strangers to the world of nature, and they have enjoyed harvesting the vegetables from their Science Garden – onions and lettuce. The children chose lettuces so they could have the pleasure of tasty lettuce sandwiches. In the grounds of the school is a very old orchard and pond, and after the apples were picked there was a Harvest Assembly, and the children made apple crumble from the fruit they had gathered. What better way to learn the delights of growing fruit!

All classes use the Science Garden when it fits in with the particular topic they are covering in the curriculum. When studying ‘Humans and other animals’ they look at mini-beasts in the Science Garden and the wild-patch too. During the year they have explored various materials that can be found there – stones, rubber, wood chip on the floor. When they study the weather there is a variety of measuring equipment they can use – a rain gauge, for example, and wind-socks which allow them to see which direction the wind is blowing and a thermometer to measure temperature. The garden also has ramps for looking at how fast things move depending on whether they are being pushed or pulled. Later in the term the children will be exploring the difference that different textures make to how fast things move. It’s an interesting way to study difficult topics such as force and resistance.

A Forest School, Russell St has a patch of woodland up by the Children’s Centre. All Year 1 classes have a series of blocks of afternoon lessons when they can do Forest School activities, following the Swedish model. An exciting new development has been a European Link, where the theme is outdoor education. A series of visits has been arranged for the teachers to exchange ideas and show each other the children’s work. One of the topics is a tree study and Russell St School will study an oak tree. In the 2nd Year all grow produce, harvest it and cook with it. In November, teachers will visit Germany, then Sweden in the Spring, and Slovenia in the Summer.

Russell St School’s keen participation in Stony Stratford’s Britain in Bloom entry is evident in the beautiful Stony in Bloom displays that line the corridors. And it was children from Russell St who first started planting in the Polytunnel at St Mary and St Giles. Those same children have just started at St Mary and St Giles, where they can see how well the plants have grown and flourished since then.

posted 05/10/09

A Secret Garden at The Children's Centre

Children at the Children’s Centre which is adjacent to the site of one of Stony in Bloom’s 2009 major projects are excited at the prospect of being involved in a revolution to rid Stony Stratford of derelict areas and are “hands-on” in helping to create a bluebell wood which will replace the neglected area in front of the Centre. The young people are helping with planting wild flowers and will be very much part of an overall nature experience in that they will learn, not only about plants, but also about creating habitat for wildlife.

An unused area at the side of the Children's Play Centre has been transformed by the Children and Play team into a "Secret Garden." This has been developed with very little money by adapting resources from the Centre and recycling a lot of old things. The Secret Garden has been further decorated by the children's and Young People's art work and has become a quiet social space where they can chat with friends. Everyone feels very proud of their resourcefulness and Judy Angus on behalf of Stony in Bloom was very honoured to be invited to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Secret Garden on 12 June.

A polytunnel at St Mary & St Giles C E School

St Mary & St Giles C E School has formed a firm partnership with the Stony in Bloom Group for each other’s benefit. A new polytunnel within the grounds provides an invaluable facility to set and grow new plants for beds and planters in the town for residents and visitors to enjoy year-round, in addition to giving winter shelter for summer plants, This facility has created a wonderful opportunity for the children to become part of the action. Head teacher, Meirion Morgan, is very enthusiastic and has started a school gardening club. For the second year running, the children will be involved in seed-planting to create plants for the entrances to the Town. Raised beds within the tunnel will provide opportunities for children to become involved and members of the Stony in Bloom group are volunteering their time to teach the children how to plant and grow their own vegetables and flowers. Just outside the polytunnel there is an allotment bed for use by the town to plant and keep safe the winter plants from the planters so that they can be used again the following winter. Nearby, four raised beds, one for each class, will give the children the chance to develop their gardening skills on an ongoing basis. In addition there will be provision for water butts and composting, so not only will the children have the chance to become fine gardeners, but also they will be in tune with good environmental practices.

Youth Partnership Group

The Youth Partnership Group brings together many of the youth activities which take place within Stony Stratford, including the Brownies, Baptist Youth Group, Junior Youth Group and Schools. These groups combined to help with bulb planting last spring. The children at Queen Eleanor school are involved in the Heritage project in Stony Stratford High Street. The Community Safety Warden is helping with litter campaigns and plans school assembly on looking after the environment.

Children's Competitions

Stony in Bloom, through the Youth Partnership Group, is organizing three competitions for children – floral container, painting with a flower or woodland theme, and writing a story with a Stony in Bloom theme and the work will be exhibited and prizes given during the Stony Open Gardens weekend.

Awards for Children's Competitions

Congratulations to everyone who took part. A very high standard and excellent creativity was achieved by all. Pictures and winning poems will be displayed in the Library from Tuesday 14 July

Russell Street Painting: William Bland and Lucia Tejera

St Mary & St Giles Painting: Annabel Lyman and Taylor Woodward

Individual Painting: David Dilnot and Jade Williams

Planters: Oliver Newman, Megan Smith and Lauren Dale

Writing: Shabnam Buhary and Eloise Smith

Some of the winners pictured below: